A Meditation at the 2 Month Trailhead of my Vegan Journey

I've been vegan now for two months and running. It's been an illuminating, fascinating and challenging ride to date. And it is only the beginning.

I admit, I am not the perfect vegan goddess I would like to be able to proclaim I am in this blog (yet). I have had my slip-ups and my moments of omnivore-envy.

Last Tuesday was my birthday and I went with a bunch of friends to a restaurant/bar that was one of my favourites in my pescatarian days. It's called Wazzubee's and it's located on the Drive, the hippyest corner of Vancouver you can find, and the street I've worked on for the past five years.

After enjoying an acai berry double rum shotted mojito-style beverage and a glass of white sangria, I ordered the vegetarian antipasto platter - we had been given a sample by our waitress and it was sooo good! It had an array of vegetables and legumes that had had an array of magnificent things done to theme like marinading, pickling and smothering in saucy sauces. Midway through the hor d'oevre of delights, I realized that the carrots had a cream sauce on them, likely dairy based. I blame it on the beverages. But it was my mistake.

On a different day the week before, there was an instance when I was sharing a Green & Blacks Orange & Spice chocolate with my dad and sis in the car after dinner out, only to realize that one of the last ingredients in the chocolate was whole milk powder, used as an emulsifier.

And, of course, there was the Tofu-rella episode where the cheese I got from the vegan cheese section at Caper's contained casein, a milk protein.

Ok, I committed the crime on one other occasion. Again on my birthday. After more than enough rounds, the party had moved back to my flat. My roomie made some popcorn with margarine (which contains liquid whey), and I am pretty sure I had a couple of kernels at the end of the night.

There!! I have admitted to my sins!

Phewf! I feel much better.

It's hard to avoid animal products when everything in our society is laced with them. I know I'll get better though. That's a part of the adventure for me! The anticipation of improvement. And the journey itself, of course. What the destination at the end of this journey is, I do not know. All I know is Namaste and I love animals.